


Harmless

by orphan_account



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Disobedient Magic, F/M, Family, Flowers, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, MAKE FUN OF THEM MORE, Romance, innocuous teasing, leokumi if you squint, this pairing needs to be made fun of more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 02:21:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12002937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Having a crush is tough, but what makes it much, MUCH worse is when your brother knows about it. The icing on the cake? Your brother and your crush are BEST FRIENDS.





	Harmless

"You have a crush on Leo," Takumi states flatly, sitting across Sakura in the mess hall during their midday meal. He rests his cheek on his palm, his elbow propped on the dining table. Smug.

"Wha...  _WHAT_?!"

There is the sound of plates clattering on wood as Sakura stands—the consequence of her slamming her hands onto the table just before. Quickly realizing that her voice had sent a shriek throughout the room, Sakura cautiously glances around to survey the damage she has caused. Pairs and pairs of eyes are now fixed upon her.

_Oh gods, no!_

She can already feel the heat prickling at her face. She hastily sits back down, fixing her skirts under her as she does so.

A muffled snicker is directed toward her from across the table. Her older brother is  _laughing_  at her.

"I don't!" Sakura chides in a whisper. "I b-barely know him..."

"Sakura," Takumi says. "Sakura, you  _do_  know that you were ogling just now. In plain sight. While sitting across me. And your eyes were all—" He brings his hands mockingly to his cheeks to demonstrate, and flutters his eyelashes. Or attempts to. It's rather ungraceful.

"I was  _not_!" Sakura argues, swatting at Takumi's arms.

"Was too!" Takumi retaliates, leaning slightly away.

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Two what?" asks the devil, whom the two siblings were just speaking of.

"Hey Leo," Takumi says, making space at the table for his friend. He lazily holds up the bread from his tray. "Two rolls today."

"Ah. Lucky you." Leo takes the seat offered to him at Takumi's side. Perhaps Takumi made  _too_  much room, for Leo's seat is right across Sakura. "Hello, Princess Sakura," he greets her politely.

"G-good afternoon, Prince Leo," Sakura replies.

Takumi sends a wink in her direction. Sakura scowls and plots revenge. Not anything lasting, but juuust enough to let him know she is  _not_  to be messed with. Maybe... maybe she'll hang up a sheet in his quarters so he'll think it's a ghost! Or better yet, what were some of those charms Orochi mentioned before?

Leo leans toward Takumi slightly and asks, "Is she okay?"

It is then that Sakura realizes that she had been glaring. "I-I'm f-f-fine!" She turns her attention to her food. "D-don't worry about m-me."

Takumi snorts. "Yeah, I just brought up something embarrassing. My fault."

"Oh? Is it an interesting story?" Leo asks. "Surely if it's about Princess Sakura it couldn't be too bad." He elbows Takumi. " _You_ , however..."

Takumi elbows him back. "Shove off."

Leo laughs. Sakura tries to resume her task of eating, but it is a LOT harder now because (1) she's self-conscious, (2) she's worried she'll somehow look ungraceful while eating, and (3)  _oh my gods oh my gods his laugh is_ SO  _cute_ —

"Hey Leo," Takumi says, "do you like girls?"

Leo chokes. Sakura freezes.

Leo coughs and asks, "As opposed to what? Men?" He gasps. "Takumi are you confessing to me?" He begins fixing his hair. "Oh dear, I'm so poorly prepared for this moment—"

Takumi interrupts, "No, I am not  _confessing_  to you, dimwit."

Leo continues to find mirth in teasing Takumi, while Sakura wishes she was somewhere else. Somewhere FAR away. Like back in her quarters. Or in the depths of the Bottomless Canyon.

Takumi tries again. "I mean, would you court a girl? You would, right?"

Leo shrugs. "Well, yes. That's the direction I see my future going."

"Then what kind of girl do you like?"

Leo's eyes dart to Sakura. Simultaneously, Sakura ceases to breathe.

"Takumi..." Leo starts, "I don't think this is an appropriate conversation here. Princess Sakura is right in front of us. And I would hope you were aware of this by now, but she is also  _a girl_."

Sakura sees her opportunity.

"I-I'll leave!" she blurts. She jolts up from the table. With a small, quick bow to Leo and a rushed, "Prince Leo, Takumi," she returns her dishes to the kitchen and exits the mess hall.

Didn't Orochi give her some of those scrolls before...?

 

* * *

 

_People are dying. That is, if you can still call them people. Vallite puppets come at Corrin's army from all angles, and their numbers are just enough to hold them back. Indeed, they cut it so close that a former shrine maiden is forced to perform an offensive spell in order to protect an ally._

_"Leo! Care!"_

_Leo turns his head in the direction of Sakura's voice, only to see a red tiger spirit bounding through the air. It collides into what seemed to be nothing, only a scant distance from Leo's steed. Sakura had protected him from an enemy he had failed to see._

_Just as he is about to thank her, the spirit turns to Leo. It bends on its haunches, as if it's about to pounce on prey. Leo plans to command his horse to run, knowing how fickle magic can be for someone new to similar tomes. But he soon finds that his distress is unnecessary because..._  

_The tiger is surprisingly docile?_

_The spirit leaps playfully toward Leo, and stands on its hind legs such that its front paws are resting on Leo's horse, which doesn't seem to be alarmed, nor does it seem to notice the spell's weight. But the apparition has to be made of_ something _because Leo definitely senses how warm and soft its fur is when it nuzzles against his hip._

_"No!" Leo hears Sakura cry from a closer distance from before. "B-bad! Come here! N-now!" And Leo damn near breaks out laughing. On the battlefield, of all places._

_Seeing that its master has come to collect it, the tiger—or what now seems to be a big, affectionate kitty—backs away from Leo (looking almost pitifully forlorn), and returns to Sakura._

_"S-sorry about that!" Sakura stammers before running back to her post. "Stay watchful!"_

_Leo allows the smile on his face to remain a second longer before he proceeds with the hunt._

 

* * *

 

"When are you going to tell her?" Takumi asks Leo, relentless.

Leo's mouth twitches before he replies, "I have no intention of dating your younger sister."

"Do you think I don't know when you're lying?" Takumi scolds, leaning forward to try his damnedest to make eye contact. "You like her."

"Do not." Leo avoids his stare.

"You do," Takumi persists.

"Not."

Takumi groans. "You told me before, remember?"

"I was exhausted out of my mind," Leo says.

"So you do remember," Takumi accuses.

Leo rubs his face indiscriminately; an anxious tic. "Fine. In which case I also remember you expressing interest in Camill–OW!"

Takumi had stepped on Leo's foot under the table. "Don't. Tell her," he seethes.

Moving his feet to a safer position, Leo grumbles, "You're insufferable."

Takumi sits upright. "I'm irresistible."

"Sure," Leo says, monotone, "keep believing that."

Satisfied, Takumi nods. "I will, thank you."

 

* * *

 

That same night, a yell could be heard from the Hoshidan side of camp, which Takumi would repeatedly insist was NOT a scream.

 

* * *

 

"Oh no... Oh dear... O-okay. A-hem," Sakura clears her throat. "T-Takumi, I'm... I'm sorry! I didn't think the r-rat spirit would... um..." She shakes her head, feeling defeated. "Argh, no! Come on, just say it!"

"Princess Sakura?"

_Eep!_

"P-p-prince Leo!" Sakua trips over her words, utterly embarrassed for having been caught talking to thin air. "Hello! W-what brings you here?"

"I could say the same to you," Leo says. He points his thumb at the structure behind him. "This is Takumi's quarters."

"It is!" Sakura clasps her hands together in front of her. "Um... w-well everyone is saying how it seemed like brother had another nightmare last night and..."

Leo watches her patiently, as Sakura decides whether she can admit—

"It was me! I-I summoned a rat spirit last night and—and I didn't think it would scare him that much! I mean, I heard he couldn't sleep for the rest of the night—I just wanted to make sure he was okay! It would be terrible if what I did let him get hurt during battle! And... and..." Sakura's eyes grow wide. She covers her face before crouching down and whining, "I feel so bad about it! I just wanted to apologize. That's why I'm here."

Leo blinks. "You mean... that was  _you_?"

Sakura wants to say no. She is sure that Leo will think poorly of her after this. But the lie isn't worth the extra strain on her conscience, so she nods. "It was me."

This time, Leo laughs, which causes Sakura's eyebrows to knit together in confusion. "It's always the quiet ones, they say." He offers her his hand.

Hesitantly, she takes it, and he helps her back to standing. "Y-you mean… You don't think my character is bad after hearing this?"

"Princess Sakura, you are likely the sweetest person in this army." Leo had only said this to comfort her, but realizing what he had implied turns his face a shade of pink. "I mean—you are very kind. I would perhaps be surprised if you  _didn't_  have some sort of mischievous aspect to your personality. I… Rather, it makes me want to learn more about you."

"That is…" She puts her hands to her mouth to cover her gasp. "P-prince Leo, you couldn't possibly…?" She smiles something small, and leans slightly toward the increasingly shy boy in front of her. "Are you—perhaps—interested in me?"

"I—" He clears his throat. He tries to stand a little bit straighter. "I am. And forgive me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that you might have held similar feelings for me. If… if you are not opposed to it, I would like to spend more time with you."

"Oh! Oh, yes! I would love that." Sakura smiles hugely, and it shoots warmth through Leo's chest. "Ah! But later!" She gently places her hand on Leo's arm as she moves past him. "I n-need to apologize to Takumi first."

The vestige of Sakura's touch makes Leo feel as if he's burning hotter than Bolganone. He nods. "L-later, then."

Takumi, now outside, takes one look at Sakura next to him, then at Leo several steps away, and asks, "What the heck were you two doing outside my quarters?"

 

* * *

 

"Princess Sakura?" Leo finds her near the Dawn Dragon statue.

"P-prince Leo." She stands and greets him with a small bow. It lets a small lock of hair fall loose from behind her ear. Leo fixes it back for her.

"Sorry for making you wait."

Sakura shakes her head. "It was nothing."

Moonlit walks in the evening had become routine for them. Quiet nights on the astral plane are a convenient escape from the atrocities of war, as ephemeral as these moments may be.

Though they've grown comfortable with silence on similar occasions, Leo chooses to speak softly now. "I've been experimenting with something, actually."

Sakura tilts her head in question. "What is it?"

"Brynhildr is able to make flowers, you see. But trying to change their color takes a different kind of effort. I discovered it in accident when I was... um... thinking about you."

"W-what color were they?"

"They were pink, but it reminded me of the color of your hair, and I realized trying to make their shade any more accurate was surprisingly difficult." He scratches the back of his neck. "There were a lot of rejects, unfortunately."

Sakura giggles. "You... made flowers while thinking of me?"

Leo hesitates. "Would you be interested in seeing them?"

"Of course." Sakura takes his hand in hers and gives it a squeeze. The smile that accompanies the action makes something warm and pleasant bloom in Leo's heart. 

 

* * *

 

When Takumi sees his friend and his little sister together, he makes a gagging noise that is both obnoxious and over-exaggerated.

"I can't believe you two are actually courting," he tells Leo the moment Sakura leaves. "But I'm happy for you, I guess."

"I have other good news for you, actually," Leo says. He turns his back to Takumi and reaches into a crevice in his armor. When he turns around, Takumi is buffeted by a flurry of bright pink petals.

Takumi swats them out of the air, muttering, "What in the name of the divine dragons...?"

"Congratulations!" Leo exclaims. "It seems that my sister has feelings for you, too!"

Takumi opens his mouth, but he closes it as doubt clouds his expression. When he chooses to speak, he says, "Wait, you mean Elise? Because I'm not so sure—"

Leo shakes his head and laughs. "No, no. My  _other_  sister."

Takumi's jaw drops to the floor.

"May the devil's luck be with you." And with a smirk, Leo turns on his heels and continues about his day.

A happy end for all, surely.


End file.
